Beautiful postcard pics! I love your disboards with DDW and Kristen! DDW isn't what I expected him to look like! But it isn't a bad thing, he has a great smile!

Have fun on your business trip! I have an interview next week with a huge company and I am getting super excited/nervous because I want and need this so bad! Wish me luck!

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Rachel - how the heck are you? Someone needs to update their PTR! Good luck with your interview! Working for a huge company can have its advantages as far as benefits packages, opportunities for promotions and in moving laterally within the company for new and different roles within the organization.

Yes, DDW has a great smile and a great laugh! Sorry I can't post a picture of his warm laugh!

Subbing to your TR! Looks like a lot of fun and since I am caught up on most of my subbed TRs I will now have something new to read. 12 days. Woo Hoo!

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Hi there Mary Ellen! Thanks for reading over here!

I just cruised through a couple of your past TR and I have to say that I am amazed at several things.. first of all, how have I missed those and even more astounding - your photos are amazing!! You are so creative! And then I listened to your 9/11 original composition tribute song - oh my gosh!!! You have such talent. Wow... now I want to go back through and read your past TRs.

The day was hot, our bellies were full from lunch, and the lines were long for many of the attractions so we were feeling a bit sluggish. However, the moment that Michael saw some monkeys he brightened up. He took some photos and posted on FB that this was not his nephew (ha, hes not a monkeys uncle!)

Since the lines for Expedition Everest were long, we got fast passes with a return time of 2-3pm. It was a little too hot for us to stand in a long line for 45 minutes.

The Finding Nemo the Musical was just starting the 1pm show so we ducked into nearly the back row just in time to see the show begin. I love this show  it is so well produced and the performers are so perfectly talented! The lady in the row just behind us kept taking photos with her flash which was annoying but one of the CM came over and spoke to her so she stopped.

My non-flash photos. They weren't great but then again, I wasn't annoying anyone I hope:

Here's the temperature before we got on EE:

Following the Nemo show we didnt have long to wait before the window for our fast passes for EE was open at 2pm. We were seated in the front row  yay for being able to see the coaster track flip in the dark cavern so that we could reverse our direction. I captured this on video but it was so dark that you can't clearly see what is happening.

EE ride photos:

Moving on we went to Dinoland but the wait for the Dinosaur ride was nearly an hour so that wasnt going to happen since we werent feeling like waiting that long. Darn! Michael had not been on this ride before and I wanted him to experience the excitement of going back in time and encountering some prehistoric critters. Next time!

Instead we headed back to Discovery Island and almost passed by the Character Landing.

Ha! Another opportunity to pose with characters! No one wanted to go with me so I decided to go alone. But wait who is that following me down the path? Emily and Michael decided to go and enjoy the AC. What AC you ask? I may have said something that led them to believe that there was a cool refreshing waiting area down there - there were overhead fans. We arrived at the character spot and Em called me out on my failure to disclose accurate information!! Yes, I lied to my kid to see if she would at least walk down the path and see how cute and adorable the characters were and then perhaps pose with them. It worked! There was NO ONE there with the characters. We saw the funniest thing with them all dancing with each other. I wish I had video of this since it was hilarious! Since we were the only park guests, there were plenty of antics and time to pose. That ended up being a highlight.

Our final to-do before we left the park for the day was to get photos by the Tree of Life.

Not sure if we are convincing anyone that we actually see a character emerging from the ground?? I don't think we had the proper motivation to pull this shot off. Ha!

I just cruised through a couple of your past TR and I have to say that I am amazed at several things.. first of all, how have I missed those and even more astounding - your photos are amazing!! You are so creative! And then I listened to your 9/11 original composition tribute song - oh my gosh!!! You have such talent. Wow... now I want to go back through and read your past TRs.

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Thanks for such a nice welcome and you totally made my day with the compliment on my 9/11 video. I was thinking about taking that link down, but decided not to because I'm proud of that song, so thank you!

I know I tend to get stuck just going to my subbed page, so I have to break out and find new TRs every once in awhile.

So I have read up to right before your first DIS meet. Glad you had an uneventful flight(s) and were able to move your room up one floor. I didn't do on line check-in in June and ended up stuck on the bottom floor. My DH and I called it our subterranean villa. Now I have requests all over my October reservation for a high floor. Seriously, it wasn't that bad, I just don't like the first floor.

I love CMC for breakfast. So yummy.

You really got some beautiful pictures in Epcot and around the Boardwalk. Just lovely. Looks like your trip is off to a great start. Looking forward to reading more!

I'm such a bad follower. I've been running crazy trying to get caught up with work and packing and I'm falling behind. Today is house cleaning day. Urgh.... there should be a rule against that before a trip. LOL!!

I have only seen the Nemo show once. Loved the theater and all of the amazing costumes and sets and multimedia stuff. Can't say I have warmed up to the songs, though. Maybe need to get more familiar with them. What a great thing to do to get out of after-lunch heat.

I love your pictures from EE. Emmy's pose with her claws out cracked me up.

You have some great pictures with the characters. It sounds like a wonderful, private interaction.

Those are wonderful photos. I love the one with Em and Tigger. I have a soft spot for him. And Piglet.
And the Everest ride photo is great too! I never buy those but always wish that I had so that right there makes the cost of the photopass CD worth it for me!

The day was hot, our bellies were full from lunch, and the lines were long for many of the attractions so we were feeling a bit sluggish. However, the moment that Michael saw some monkeys he brightened up. He took some photos and posted on FB that this was not his nephew (ha, hes not a monkeys uncle!)

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Too funny! Sounds like something I would have done...if I had a Facebook, that is! Yep, I'm probably the only person on the planet who does not have a Facebook account.

Wonderful pics, as usual! I really like the one of Crush in the Nemo musical (it came out great even without flash), and the character shots are especially cute. And I love that the jokes from Michael never stop. Not a monkey's uncle

Thanks for such a nice welcome and you totally made my day with the compliment on my 9/11 video. I was thinking about taking that link down, but decided not to because I'm proud of that song, so thank you!

I know I tend to get stuck just going to my subbed page, so I have to break out and find new TRs every once in awhile.

So I have read up to right before your first DIS meet. Glad you had an uneventful flight(s) and were able to move your room up one floor. I didn't do on line check-in in June and ended up stuck on the bottom floor. My DH and I called it our subterranean villa. Now I have requests all over my October reservation for a high floor. Seriously, it wasn't that bad, I just don't like the first floor.

I love CMC for breakfast. So yummy.

You really got some beautiful pictures in Epcot and around the Boardwalk. Just lovely. Looks like your trip is off to a great start. Looking forward to reading more!

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Hi Mary Ellen! I know what you mean about subbing to certain threads ... I have trouble keeping up with my usual 40+ subbed reviews that I tend to not expand my horizons but when I do, it is always so cool to "meet" new people and learn about others' experiences.

I'm such a bad follower. I've been running crazy trying to get caught up with work and packing and I'm falling behind. Today is house cleaning day. Urgh.... there should be a rule against that before a trip. LOL!!

I love the picture from Buzz. I have one with me sticking my tongue out. I was definitely concentrating. LOL!!

I love EE. One of my favorite rides ever. We got to ride it when they first built it. I found out a few months ago that DH's cousin was one the the architects that worked on it.

I love Pooh, but Eeyore is my favorite. LOL!!

I love those monkeys. They are loud though!! LOL!!

Can't wait to read more and I promise I will keep up this time.

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Michelle - you have a very good reason for not being caught up! I would much rather be packing! No worries for now you get a free pass to get caught up another time since you have exciting things to look forward to very soon!

If we are ever in WDW together, we will make a date!! I would love to meet you!

I have only seen the Nemo show once. Loved the theater and all of the amazing costumes and sets and multimedia stuff. Can't say I have warmed up to the songs, though. Maybe need to get more familiar with them. What a great thing to do to get out of after-lunch heat.

I love your pictures from EE. Emmy's pose with her claws out cracked me up.

You have some great pictures with the characters. It sounds like a wonderful, private interaction.

Too bad you had to skip Dinosaur. Next eon, maybe.

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I thought of you when I posted the EE photos since you had recently wrote about your ride experience on EE with photos as well!

Between you and me... I prefer the FOTLK to the Nemo show. Song selections are no comparison between the two!

Those are wonderful photos. I love the one with Em and Tigger. I have a soft spot for him. And Piglet.
And the Everest ride photo is great too! I never buy those but always wish that I had so that right there makes the cost of the photopass CD worth it for me!

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Thanks Alysa. Awww Tigger hugs for Em!

The only reason I got the photo was because I had it added to my photopass+.

Too funny! Sounds like something I would have done...if I had a Facebook, that is! Yep, I'm probably the only person on the planet who does not have a Facebook account.

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Ha! I finally had to be my own FB account since I was always on Michaels and people would try to chat with me and I'd have to fess up and say, it's Brenda online not Michael. At least a few of his friends knew what an awesome wife I am because I'm sure he would have said so even if I didn't hijack his account!!!

Wonderful pics, as usual! I really like the one of Crush in the Nemo musical (it came out great even without flash), and the character shots are especially cute. And I love that the jokes from Michael never stop. Not a monkey's uncle

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Thanks DDW... the Crush photo is probably the only one that came out without the flash. I need to learn how to use the settings on my DSLR but I just keep it on auto. Lame I know!

Yay for a fun (if also hot!) AK afternoon!! LOL at you telling Em and Michael that there was cooler air down the path! At least it resulted in a fun character meet!

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Yeah....I probably should have just bribed them instead of failing to disclose accurate information! And yes, the characters were a lot of fun since they had nothing better to do than entertain us since there was no one down there.

Sorry for the short update to this TR... it's late and I need to roll into bed but I am determined to update tonight so I'll do a short one heavy on photos light on narrative.

Monday August 20, 2012 - Day 3 Part 3​

It was 3pm and our plan was to take a bus to Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter and then take the boat to DTD where we wanted to play at DisneyQuest. We hadnt been to either of those resorts let alone taken the boat to DTD.

A glimpse at a PO Riverside or is this POFQ?:

Once at PO Riverside we went into Fultons General Store to get some cold beverages since we were parched! We stopped in the resort lobby briefly before moving outside to catch the boat. I thought the lobby was very beautiful with the chandeliers, floral arrangements, and the Mickey details in the decorative overhead arches.

Someone got sucked into watching the kiddie TV:

We boarded the boat and waited about 15 minutes before we left to head to DTD. It made a stop at POFQ and made it to the Marketplace section of DTD. We should have done the smart thing and caught the bus from Marketplace to the West Side where we were headed but instead we decided to walk all the way in the blazing heat. It was about this time that Michael and Em were a bit grumpy and done with any fun. I honestly dont blame them since they were pretty tired and miserable but they didnt revolt  they kept trekking.